MacGregor Leaves A Lasting Image

Published: October 20, 1999 12:00AM

A sharp eye is a definite requirement for a portrait photographer.

That falls a distant second, though, to the ability to establish a rapport with the subject in the viewfinder. Particularly when those subjects are little ones, antsy children eager to be anywhere but sitting still for a camera lens.

Wooster master photographer Nancy MacGregor indeed has the magic touch.There are the timeless, color-coordinated dry-cleaned clothes hanging neatly and crisply from their racks, row after row. There are toys to use as props, or as a panacea. Then there is the relaxed atmosphere in the roomy studio at 570 N. Market St.

The wooden floors project a warmth to the room and the cheery illuminating windows help elicit smiles from the most stubborn child.Tying it all together is MacGregor's gregarious nature."Not a lot of people can work with children like she does," said Peggy Tieche, who recently had MacGregor do a portrait of her eight daughters in antique ivory dresses, sans shoes. "She has a lot of patience. She's really a children's mentor."It's quite a lot of work getting (the girls) dressed. But Nancy's always done that," Tieche said.

"Our home is traditional, a Tudor, and it's just her style to dress them up in old antique dresses and barefoot. "Nancy's like family to us," Tieche said.

MacGregor's portraits of her girls -- updated annually -- hang prominently at TJ's Restaurant in Wooster. So good were the Tieche portraits that industry giant Kodak purchased MacGregor's negatives for use to sell its product.

"I just love doing children's portraits," said MacGregor, at her studio last week. "That is my niche. That's what I want to concentrate on. "I've taken pictures of everything, including a paint can. But at this point in my life, I've decided that I'm not going to do that anymore. "I'm going to do portraits of my friend's grandchildren," she said, laughing at the notion.

There was a touch of sadness to that thought. After nearly seven years of building her Wayne County business into a commercial and artistic success, MacGregor has decided to head back to Colorado at the end of October.

She recently sold her Market Street building to Realtor Phil Mariola and her remodeled cabin -- the former Ollie Diller residence off Wayne Avenue -- to a doctor to clear the way for her move. "I want to be near my grandson, Hayes MacGregor," she said. "My two sons, Michael and George, are in Colorado; that's where I came from."I had a very successful business back in Colorado before I came here; I was the only woman master photographer in Colorado."

To earn the master photographer designation, a professional photographer amasses points by entering competitions. "The thing I'm going to miss about Wooster is the people," MacGregor said. "But I found a new life, and it's time to move on."

Gone will be the antique dresses and toys. But MacGregor's portraits, and her image as a master artist, will hang around the area for years to come.